ET Goes
by Wicked R
Summary: Dean is starting to realise how unkind purgatory really is to his angel.
1. Chapter 1

Title: ET Goes..

Disclaimers: Purely for fun only. Classic case of 'if you don't see it on screen, fill the void in yourself and write it'.  
Genre: hurt/comfort you glorious!

Rating: possibly still on the PG side

Summary/Set: Dean is starting to realise how unkind purgatory really is to his angel.

Pairing: Benny/Cas/Dean friendship, perhaps a little bit more

Dean blinked his eyes open, unsure how much he'd exactly slept. Could've been a few minutes, could've been a few hours, in the same constant murky light of purgatory it was impossible to tell. He didn't feel particularly refreshed, though he didn't any point when they have decided to take a break, either. But Benny had recognised his companion's need to have a vague idea of how much rest he had actually managed and usually casually and factually shrugged in his direction, muttering 2-3 hours or 4 at him to let him know. Dean turned round to locate the usually vigilant and sentry vampire who did not need any shuteye. Instead he almost bumped into the dirty, trenchcoated form lying next him. Bewildered, the human sat up to take a better look at the angel's face from an angle that allowed him to establish that Castiel's eyes were indeed closed and his breathing noticeably deep, neither occurrence he was typically used to.

Benny nodded at him affirmatively from a few feet away, his boots perched on a rock as he leaned back on a tree stump. Dean still needed to look back and forth between them questioningly till the vampire decided to share, "he fell asleep not long after you. I guess he needed it," Benny shrugged, his voice low. "You may as well go back to sleep, it's only been about half an hour. I haven't sensed anything off around here," his companion assured him.

"Right," Dean acknowledged the suggestion being the best course of action and pulled his jacket tighter around himself to lie back down. Cas did fight and smite a few monsters that day, perhaps his mojo had to recharge, the hunter reasoned, closing his eyes. The next time he woke up, Castiel was staring into the distance a few yards ahead, scoping out their next leg of the journey as usual. He seemed no more weary and beat than what he had to get used to seeing him like in purgatory so Dean didn't question the unexpected incidence from earlier.

The second time Dean should've asked questions was when Cas disappeared without saying anything. If there was any time between sensing monsters and their attack, Castiel usually let him know if he flew off anywhere given how grouchy and touchy his ex charge has become over the subject of leaving anyone behind or Castiel going anywhere on his own, so Dean was somewhat thrown off balance when he couldn't see their third group member who was supposed to flank them. He held out a hand to stop Benny in front of him. "Cas." Dean questioned, looking around.

The fighting comrades automatically took a few steps in the direction they last saw Castiel in despite the angel's tendency to use other methods of transportation than his feet. "Is something wrong, Cas? Gimme a sign!" Dean barked anxiously and apprehensively as they covered the immediate perimeter, assuming the angel didn't fly far like all the other times they had to fight the beasts of purgatory. Weapons trained and eyes roaming around, they searched around, starting with tracing their steps backwards.

"Cas?" Dean called out again impatiently, "we're in this together you understand! If you're trying to use yourself as bait again to keep the Leviathan away from me, I swear to you Cas.."

"Dean." Benny pointed round an oversized bush where he saw Castiel supporting himself against a tree with one hand, slightly folded over at the waist.

"Cas, are you hurt?" The human hurried in his old friend's direction, offering a steadying hand against hunched shoulders.

"I just need a little rest," Castiel huffed out, pale and seemingly out of breath.

"We're taking a break," Dean established, throwing his rucksack down. Benny gave a slightly disapproving raise of the eyebrows, but took up his habitual sentinel's position.

"Come on, I want you to sit down," Dean lowered the compliant Castiel to the ground. Too compliant. "Cas? What's going on?"

"I used my powers a little too unsparingly," the angel wheezed.

"When?" Dean looked around perplexed for signs of a struggle, "did anybody attack?"

"There was no attack," Benny gave his frank opinion, "the angel's weak. He's been struggling in combat more and more, taking longer to move, longer to smite," the vampire asserted.

The human looked from one to the other, judging their expressions. Castiel pursed his lips, but didn't argue with the assessment. "Do you need a longer breather to recharge?" Dean placed a hand on the angel's shoulder. "I'm sure we could take an early stop for the night and you don't take a turn as sentry. Me and Benny will. Would that help?"

"Dean. It would be in our best interest if we just marched on. The sooner we get to the portal, the sooner the situation resolves itself," Castiel objected.

"And the sooner you fall over. We're camping out here. The surrounding trees should offer enough protection for the time being," Dean established, taking charge, "lie down, Cas," he gave the angel's shoulder a push sideways, "you know just as well as I do that a weak link pulls everyone down in battle. You're taking a rest and that's final."

Tbc


	2. Insuffiecient

Chapter 2: Insufficient

Two melees, a flight with two passengers and three smitings later, Dean was starting to believe the respite has done Castiel a lot of good and that he had recharged as much as he ever did these days when he suddenly became aware of Castiel's absence from his immediate proximity again. Apprehensively, he turned around to find that the angel was still thankfully in sight, although hunched over and holding his stomach. "What's wrong?" The human started, his question being quickly answered by a surge of gastric juices and bile parting from the angel. Benny shook his head, eying up the situation to determine the implications and delay resulting from the celestial being's indisposition this time.

"Easy..easy…" Dean decided to support his swaying friend by the waist, "you think you're done? Stop staring at it, it won't do you any good," he steered Castiel a few steps away from the mess as the angel just gave an indecisive moan. "Damn it Cas, what's wrong with you?"

"Just a minute please, I'm starting to feel better, thank you for your assistance," Castiel huffed, straightening up a little, " we should resume the trek," he attempted to free himself from his best friend's hold.

"Not so fast Cas," Dean kept a supporting arm round the other's back and arm, "I'll let you go when you stop shaking and I'm convinced you'll stay standing when I let go," the hunter asserted.

"And a proper explanation as to what we're dealing with would be good too," Benny inserted, "teamwork doesn't work well without trust and truth."

"I was hoping I could assist you further, but it seems we'll have to part nonetheless," Castiel gave an apologetic frown, still trying to catch his breath.

"Like hell we're parting when you can't even defend yourself!" Dean argued, livid and frustrated over being left clueless while something had obviously been wrong with Cas for a while.

"A little bit I could've went further if you didn't press for explanations," Castiel reproached, "but now I have to admit that I will not only be a danger beacon as I had been before, but a hindrance as well. I'm afraid I don't have the strength to go on."

"We'll wait with you, as long as it takes," Dean assured him, "nobody gets left behind, remember?"

"You don't understand, Dean," Castiel winced, allowing himself to lower to the ground steadied by the hunter's strong hold, "I can't walk, I'm in too much pain. I have been hiding it from you, except there's no need now," he blew out the air, hunching over himself.

Dean spared a worried glace for Benny before swallowing and looking back at Castiel to take stock, "okay, well, it might take even longer than I thought, but I've searched for you for months, a few days here or there won't matter."

Castiel shook his head, "you can't take me. I'm dying. This place, purgatory, it wasn't meant for angels. It sucking out my power day by day, poisoning me and the cramps are getting unbearable," he looked at his friend with pleading eyes, "please Dean, don't make me move," he curled up on himself.

"You're telling me you're dying and that you're in terrible pain and you're asking me to leave you to it? Then your mental faculties must be affected as well," Dean spat. "How far do you think we are from the portal?" He looked up at Benny.

"A couple of days perhaps," the vampire said noncommittally, as evenly as if nothing would've happened.

"You hear that Cas? Two days, that's not long to walk. We'll help. We can carry you if need be," Dean offered a tentative, reassuring hand, rubbing at Castiel's arm.

"No. I won't be a burden. You shouldn't wait. I won't be able to make it anyway," the angel argued.

"And you know that how! We need to get strong branches and hard-wearing vines to bind them up into a stretcher," the Winchester started to look around searchingly.

"I'll deal with that," Benny offered, "you stay with him," their friend from purgatory set to work, knowing how much Castiel meant to the human.

"No, no," Castiel hung onto the supporting hand Dean had provided and heaved himself into a sitting position, "a stretcher would largely hinder your abilities to defend yourself promptly at the first sign of danger. I'll walk."

"Didn't you just say you couldn't?" Benny pointed out raising his eyebrows.

"You begged me a minute ago not to move you," Dean hovered uncertainly.

"That was before your stubborn streak manifesting," Castiel argued, "I will not let you put yourself in peril on my behalf. Help me up!" The angel grunted from the ground just as stubbornly.

"Yeah, whatever," Dean rolled his eyes, "as long as we get you to the portal," he leaned down to grab his friend by the waist and hauled him up, easier than expected as he had Benny's help from the other side. "How's the pain?" The hunter leaned in to look into the angel's ashen face.

Castiel shook his head, trying to straighten up, but bending right back down over his stomach, "not as bad if I don't try to stand straight."

"Peachy," Dean frowned, "could you take one arm away from your belly and over my shoulder?"

"I think so," Castiel bid determined, following the action through resolutely, almost as if he was a lot better than he appeared a moment.

"Okay," Dean spoke with hopeful determination, "just tell us when you need a rest."

Tbc


	3. Sweat, Blood

Chapter 3: Blood, sweat and tears

"When were you going to tell me this place is killing you?" Dean propped Castiel's head up so he could help him to a little bit of water from Benny's flask. The green eyed man didn't know if it would be of any use, or if any of his friend's angelic powers still worked, but with the number of times the angel had been vomiting or was reduced to dry heaves, he must've needed some rehydration.

"Never if I didn't have to," Castiel stated, the water at least restoring the capacity in his throat to speak without grating his vocal cords. Dean eased him back to the ground, mindful not to jolt his friend's abdominal area. Castiel groaned nevertheless, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from making more noise. He curled up upon himself, shaking hands protecting his stomach. Dean's unhappy grunt came like an echo, almost like mirroring his pain, a moment where the human's realisation that his angel couldn't take much more reinforced itself in his brain. At a loss, he placed a hand on the invalid's shoulder, weary of touching him any more in case it hurt him, but wanting to provide some sort of comfort.

"The way you carried him yesterday bridal style's all romantic, but this one will be better so we can share the load," Benny appeared from behind the trees pulling a makeshift stretcher with him and placing it next to the ailing supernatural being, "you need to lift him on it," he prompted Dean.

The Winchester nodded, "just a little bit of pain and then you won't need to move all day," he promised, easing an arm under Castiel's legs and one round his shoulders, "ready?" Castiel took a deep breath, eyes boring into his once charge's apprehensively, but his expression conveyed the same determination that was so characteristic of him. For the lack of a better response, the hunter took it as a yes.

The angel didn't make a sound this time while Dean manoeuvred him to his side like he knew it hurt the least, but the human's relief over not causing his buddy too much pain was shortlived. Castiel's pale face shone with sweat as his eyes fluttered closed and the shivers intensified. And all they have done was just move him one foot. The hunter looked up at his other friend, sharing a concern. It was clear that Castiel's condition had worsened considerably during the couple of hours Dean needed to rest from carrying his once rescuer. Without needing words to come to an understanding, Benny and Dean lifted the handles of the stretcher up as delicately as possible and started treading even more cautiously so they don't agitate the patient. Vigilance over possible attackers largely aside, the hunter monitored Castiel's reactions as much as possible, slowing down each time the angel clawed at his midsection, coming to a standstill when Castiel shuddered with dry heaves once more.

It was how a group of Leviathan found them, at least half a dozen solidifying at close proximity. Even so, Dean placed the stretcher down as gently as possible before reaching for the purgatory blade he had tucked into his belt.

Small, but plentiful bloodstained teeth showed themselves as the first, closest Leviathan's mouth opened wide in anticipation, locked on its prey-the still incapable of defending himself Castiel. Dean caught Benny's eyes once more briefly before all hell broke loose; his vampire friend sniggered at him, managing to kick one of the approaching monsters in the side to make it collide into his fellow Leviathan, the one nearing his buddy.

The momentary imbalance of the creature was all Dean needed to finish the monster. Nobody was getting in close proximity to his angel. The hunter stepped sideways, his feet at Castiel's shoulder now, covering the ailing soldier as much as he could. For no moment while Dean shifted, turned, parried and fought, did he leave the angel's side open. He more felt than saw Benny taking a similar position at the other side, leaping, spinning, his makeshift purgatory weapon smashing into adversaries with a dynamic dance of well skilled, devastating blows.

Dean held his own, vigilant of any opponents not decapitated rising to their feet again. Benny was grinning, who knows about what as their number of attackers didn't seem to go down even after four of them were beheaded. In just the few whirling seconds the first wave of attackers got dealt with, more had emerged from behind the trees. With no time to spare for fear over the unfairness of the situation, the two buddies launched themselves back into battle, hacking, tearing, destroying everything that stepped into range. Fuelled by his anger as he was, in certain circumstances Dean could've called the run-in fun, piling attackers collapsed on the ground on top of of each other. They could win, they always did, he knew it.

The next thing he felt was a big blow at the back of his head. Still, he was in mid swing, he couldn't stop now. Vision swimming, he swayed a little from side to side, but his severing the enemy's neck was still clean and precise. He had to see the next one and the next one, anticipate their moves, calculate his blows, keep in front of Cas, aid Benny. Except the back of his head was throbbing, darkness crept into the peripheries of his vision and his legs felt like jelly. He swung the blade wildly, more defending himself now than attempting to score a hit. But even that became too much. He was fading, strength flowing out his limbs. Dean could not delay passing out any longer. Like a true hunter, he never let go of his weapon as he fell and he planned where to collapse as well. In a crumpled heap entangled with Cas perhaps was the best place. Of course Benny would've needed a miracle to fight all the attackers off by himself, but for just one more moment Dean could still protect Cas. Afterwards, he would most likely find himself on the next level, in hell again, but there was nothing he could do about that.

Tbc


	4. Improbability

Chapter 4: Improbability

When Dean woke, he first became aware of something hard pressing, hurting and shaping his ear into an unnatural shape. At further inspection, he found that it was the wide branch that Benny had used for one of the sides of the stretcher. He was half lying on it, but somehow not on Cas. Castiel was nowhere to be felt or seen in his field of vision! Groaning, he unstuck his blood matted sticky side of his head from the wooden stretcher and almost puked. Whether it was because of a possible concussion or the stench of the sea of burnt out bodies of monsters was hard to tell. Dean sat up gingerly, touching the site of his injury. His hand came back matted with blood, but it wasn't much and it didn't seem very viscous, so he declared himself fit to investigate further.

"Ye'lright mate?" Benny's uneasy voice came, sounding far away, but when he turned towards it, Dean found that the vampire was kneeling only a few feet away, leaning over the ashen form of Castiel, if only concealed from sight partially by the monsters lying lifeless on the ground.

"How did you slay them all?" Dean questioned, muddled. His senses were only slowly coming back to full function.

"I didn't," Benny intoned weightily, "your angel however.."

"Cas did this?" Dean looked around, just to reassure himself it was all true. It made sense given how the bodies looked, but how could Castiel have had the strength?

"You need to come here." Benny stated in a grave tone.

"What happened! What did he do!" Dean scrambled to his feet breathlessly, sheer will keeping him from disregarding the throbbing in his head that intensified at his rising. He dropped to his knees next to the other two before the pounding brought him down all the same.

"He yanked the Leviathan out the way that almost had you, ganked another, then starting shining like the sun. When it was over these were all dead," Benny explained, but Dean wasn't listening. Apart from the absence of burned wings on the ground, Castiel wasn't giving any indication that he was alive. Dean agitatedly searched his angel's blood stained face, felt for a pulse, leaned in to listen to his breathing.

"I can hear it sometimes, there is a heartbeat," the vampire assured him.

"I can't feel it," Dean agonized, continuing to check for a thrumming sensation on Cas' throat as well as his wrist.

"It's there," Benny held out an arm to steady Dean's. "That's not the trouble. It's there at the moment, a vampire can hear it, but it's getting less frequent and less strong. Of course I don't know how much an angel's heart needs to beat," he frowned apologetically, "but I think his body finds it harder and harder to make it work, Dean, I'm sorry. That was the last of his strength he's used up. It won't be long now, he said he doesn't feel the pain anymore."

"We need to go, now!" Dean shouted, "bring the stretcher, quick!"

Benny shook his head, "he's been calling for you before you woke up. He's been calling for you a lot."

"It doesn't matter right now," Dean took to try to gather Castiel's frail upper body in his arms, not minding the dark spots in front of his own eyes at the effort,"are you helping me or not?"

"Look, man," Benny physically held out a strong hand to stop him, "I'm not an aficionado of the angel, but it seemed like his dying wish for you to hold him as he went so against all better judgement of not staying loco, I suggest you stay with him. Not that you could even carry that weight with that concussion of yours and the amount of bloodloss."

Dean looked from one to the other, hesitant for a moment. Castiel was deathly still, cold, ashen and comatose. Benny was as sympathetic as the hunter would've never thought he would see the vampire be, gently taking hold of Castiel's hand and placing it into Dean's. "He was trying to grab for you," Benny explained.

The hunter took a deep breath, overwhelmed by emotions. Realistically, his bloodsucker friend was probably right, it was impossible for him to as much as walk at the moment, let alone carry another person. But he wasn't leaving without his angel. "Then you can carry him!" He came up with the solution.

Benny grunted, exasperated. Of course Dean's stubbornness didn't know boundaries. "And who will help you stand on your feet, brother, hm?"

"Take him, I don't need help," the human's voice took on a pleading tone.

"Very well," Benny knit his brow and reached careful hands under the angel, searching for a firm grip. But as soon as he shifted the legs to hook a strong arm under Castiel's knees, the ailing supernatural went rigid, muscles tense and unwilling to uncurl.

"Deean.." The word on Castiel's lips sounded like a whimper and a shudder went through Castiel as he coughed, blood flowing out of his mouth every time he opened it. "Dean.." He tried again, desperate.

"I'm here Cas," the hunter took Castiel's hand into his own gently, minding not to trigger any sudden movements. "Not too long now Cas, hang on."

Blue eyes opened slowly, taking their time to blink away sweat and grime, but Castiel squeezed Dean's fingers back ever so slightly, "Dean. I'd want you to know.." The angel sighed painfully, fighting for enough breath to get the words out, "that I never regret falling fo.." He wheezed, looking like he needed the oxygen that didn't even exist per se in purgatory.

"Easy, easy, Cas!" Dean held onto his friend's hand helplessly as he watched him cough wheezingly, the movement the coughing caused in his body making Castiel's eyes glaze over with agony. "Don't talk, please! We'll carry you and you'll probably pass out. It will all be ok, Cas, you'll see. Let's do this."

Castiel's other hand shot out, away from being curled up against his stomach and grabbed Dean by the lapel of his jacket, "no. No," he squirmed desperately, "hurts."

"I am not leaving here without you Cas," Dean maintained resolutely, "so suffer it, I don't care, we're getting you out of here," he nodded at Benny to encourage him to follow through with what they've talked about. Castiel gave a small gasp at the vampire's contact, but did not, could not show any more resistance. He was too weak. His hand fell limply from holding onto Dean, eyes closing with the hiss of air that left his lungs.

"Is he still..?" Dean clambered to his feet, swaying, but with his focus never shifting from his ailing friend.

"He's back to unconscious, nonetheless alive," Benny assured him, "I suggest we'd better make time till new Leviathan catch up with us," he adjusted his hold on Castiel as if the angel was featherlight, "get my blade. You can put a hand on my shoulder as we walk if we need support."

"Just so you can feel like Superman?" Dean grumbled, refusing the help and using both of their blades as more or less walking sticks to keep himself upright.

Tbc


End file.
